Analyze differences between Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality?
As you may have gathered through media, virtual reality has become one of the most important assets of the tech world today. However, despite being as popular as it is, augmented is still considered relatively new, which means not everyone has the same kind of access to it.
A lot of people are still not familiar with it. VR uses an immersive device to create a virtual world for you, a completely computer-generated environment. This world is completely separate from the physical world, and its rapidly increasing popularity and application even make it a great topic for the best article writing service.
Augmented reality is something different. A lot of people confused the two, and it’s understandable because they are quite similar. However, where VR aims to replace our existing environment with something new completely, AR brings certain elements of virtual reality into our physical world. Holograms are a good example of this.
Augmented Reality adds layers to our existing world, creating 3D virtual elements in our physical world so that we can interact with both worlds simultaneously.
Let’s look at a few major difference s between Augmented and Virtual reality.
Table of Contents
The devices
As you may have seen in various movies and advertisements, virtual reality is accessed through a headset. That is how it can create the illusion of another, entirely new environment around you by blocking the entirety of your vision of the real world.
You are not required to interact with anything physical, which is why this device is purely to transport you to a world where everything you can access is virtual.
- The most interaction you can get from a VR headset is sound and rumbles in the controller. In movie theaters, they may also try to create an even more real experience by including the use of senses such as smell and touch.
- Most retail devices in VR cannot yet give you these added senses. They can only be found in 4D theaters thus far.
AR devices can resemble headsets like in VR, but they are not the same at all. A good example to help you understand these devices is Google Glass glasses.
They do not transport you to another world entirely but create layers of information for you within the physical world. AR can be accessed through different apps and devices and does not require a setup like VR. However, it remains much less popular than VR.
- AR can show you what you will get before you get it. It may help you see what an outfit will look like on you before you buy it, which means it has great potential to get very popular very quickly.
- Augmented Reality has a lot of diverse uses. Not only can it be used in gaming and other forms of entertainment, but it also has a lot of practical uses in all sorts of businesses.
How engaging they are
AR is not meant to be as immersive as VR. VR allows you to dive into the environment completely it creates for you, meaning that you use it mostly in situations where you want absolutely no interruptions whatsoever.
- Virtual reality allows you to remain focused on whatever it is that you’re doing, for example, if you’re watching a movie or playing a game, you will be entirely lost in that world without having any connection to the outside world as long as you have the headset on. It keeps you concentrated on whatever you’re experiencing.
- AR is designed differently. You will still go about your normal life while experiencing certain parts of your physical world in a new way, but you won’t be completely lost in the technology – you will be well aware of what’s happening around you.
What are they useful for?
VR tends to be a lot more complex than AR. Because of how immersive it is. The most common forms of media VR is use for are either movies or video games. Because of the complexity of its design, VR requires a console or computer of some sort, and cannot function without a high-end device.
AR, however, can function through even your smartphone. The data does not need to be processed as much as it does in VR because it’s not too complicated. The applications can be very simple, which means that it can function pretty much anywhere.
They make it a lot more practical, which is why it can be of great use in things like presenting artwork or advertising. Students can use it to make their presentations better, as well. Overall, AR is more applicable when it comes to real-world uses than VR.
Their way of functioning
This one depends on the media being displayed in the devices. For example, video games in VR can be rendered as they are being played, or even pre-rendered. AR, however, is more versatile and the rendering adjusts according to where the user is.
It can respond to the situation at hand and work accordingly, which is another reason it is great for practical use in the real world. It does not require an advanced engine, which is why it can operate on a device as small as a smartphone.
How interactive they can be
We’ve learned by now that VR does not allow its users to interact with the physical aspects of its environment. The media is programmed before the actual use takes place, and the VR world and reality are completely separate.
AR is much more reactive than VR due to it existing in the physical world itself – it is not an entity of its own, rather an addition to our already interactive world. If anything, it might even increase how interactive we are.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Adrish has a bachelor’s in linguistics. He is 35 years old and is a visiting lecturer at a few different universities, where he not only teaches and also provides the best article writing service to new business investors for their needs or requirements. He has also worked at content writing websites in his initial years.